By allowing ads to appear on this site, you support the local businesses who, in turn, support great journalism.
Study finds more people are moving into high flood zones, increasing risk of water disasters
preview.jpg
FILE - Villagers retrieve belongings, which were they kept on the higher ground surrounded floodwaters, at a village in Sohbat Pur, a flood-hit district of Baluchistan province, Pakistan, Oct. 25, 2022. Far more people are in harm's way as they move into high flood zones across the globe, adding to an increase in watery disasters from climate change, a new study said. - photo by AP Photo/Fareed Khan, File
Far more people are in harm's way as they move into high flood zones across the globe, adding to an increase in watery disasters from climate change, a new study said. Since 1985, the number of the world’s settlements in the riskiest flood zones has increased 122%, compared to 80% for the safest areas, according to a study in Wednesday’s journal Nature by researchers at The World Bank. The authors looked at settlement extent and expansion using satellites instead of population, with the world’s built-up regions growing 85% overall from 1985 to 2015.